1 28 LAWNS 



run the knives directly up to the tree ; in the 

 other case the mower is Hkely to clip off a 

 lower growth of the shrubs just where they 

 form unions with the grass. This will result 

 in giving the shrubbery itself an appearance 

 of being an excrescence upon the lawn — a 

 thing set down upon it accidentally and im- 

 properly, rather than part of a happy and 

 tasteful composition and union in the sur- 

 rounding borders and distant masses of other 

 shrubs and trees. After the mower has 

 been used to cut the larger surface of the 

 grass the spring shears are taken in hand and 

 any untouched corners or tufts of grass are 

 hand trimmed. 



Another useful hand cutter is the grass 

 hook, a modified form of sickle designed 

 especially for cutting grass with a sharp, easy 

 swing. It is a sort of miniature scythe. Its 

 disadvantage is that one has to crawl over the 

 ground when working. It is useful in small 

 gardens, however, where there are narrow 

 borders of grass, for which it would hardly be 

 worth while purchasing a machine mower 

 with small knives. 



The edging iron, which is used for trimming 

 the edges, is a serviceable tool but is hardly 



